You know when you find a book that expresses your views perfectly, but not only that, it makes connections which you had failed to spot? Well, that perfectly describes this book for me.

Tzvetan Todorov looks at the problems in the democratic systems running the World today. He takes us through the history of democracy right up to the present date, patiently explaining the new concepts at each stage and the historical background which lead to it.

Todorov then looks at the difficulties facing democracy today. He outlines, not just the problem, but the reasons that it has occurred. The interesting thing is that the problem in the UK is not dissimilar to that in the USA, France, Germany, or any other of the established democracies. Todorov was born in Bulgaria and has made his home in France so, it was good to see the issues from a non-British point of view. This really is a must read for anyone with an interest in politics, or simply twenty-first century life. ( )